It is mere perspective that makes us see what we do & it takes the blink of an eye to change what you get by changing what you think. Ever heard someone say, “It felt too real! I could possibly control my dream!”
This holds more truth than you could imagine. Dreams are powerful tools that can heal and hurt us by subconsciously modifying our perception. You could live on Jupiter, taste fire and fly over the Bermuda Triangle, and still be alive.
Lucid dreaming is the act of knowing that you are dreaming but still being asleep. For the cynics, the anterior prefrontal cortex is visibly larger and active in lucid dreamers and helps in self-reflection, allowing them to exert control and explore their dreams. Sounds complex?
Remember the movie Inception? Yes, I know what you’re thinking. The movie was like a honeycomb in a cobweb. But how the characters kept an inanimate object constant to identify whether they are dreaming or asleep is the only apparent key to differentiate between the two. Read on to know it more!
Who can be a lucid dreamer?
You, I and everybody else around us. Lucid dreaming is not a mere genetic combination rather; it’s a skill that can be developed with practice.
How can you lucid dream?
Lucid dreaming is essentially the ability to put oneself in a state of perpetual self-control and patiently explore what your subconscious is trying to tell you. The few things that you must preach are-
- Dream Recall– Every time you wake up, try to remember what you dreamt the previous night. This helps to fine tune your subconscious mind to stay in sync with the conscious mind. Make notes of your dreams and write down as many details as you can.
- Attention to Detail– An observant mind is fundamental to LD. Paying attention to little things around you during the day and also trying to remember the intricacies in your dream is an important aspect of LD.
- Meditation– This is synonymous with any other mental calming technique. Before you can lucid dream, it is important that you connect to yourself and rid your mind of all thoughts (except the one you focus on before dreaming)
Is lucid dreaming useful or helpful?
- Therapy– Dreaming about what you want and where you want to be is often used to relax oneself. People use LD as a tool to unwind and relieve themselves of stress just at the cost of being asleep!
- Introspection– LD is an effective method of allowing your subconscious mind to unravel what lies in the deepest corner of your heart and mind. It is thus also an effective means of understanding yourself better and being spiritually enlightened.
- Exploration– There always remains the possibility of certain situations being beyond our reach. But, everything is possible in our dreams! So you can choose to live a fantasy or taste fire! LD is your one step solution for all you ever wanted.
Is there any instance to support that this really happens? Or is it make-believe?
Lucid dreaming, like love and cough is hard to believe until it happens. But still, history holds merit that LD has been a part of revolutionary events. Harriet Tubman, the woman who helped American slaves escape through underground railroads attributed her ability to free them because of her dreams and vivid recall of the underground channels. Paul McCartney of The Beatles claims that he dreamt the melody of his song ‘Yesterday’ which proved to be another one in the list of several critically acclaimed compositions.
This is not an exhaustive list of the complexities and the questions that come to our mind when we discuss lucid dreaming but nonetheless, this is good insight! The intensity of our dreams depends on the REM (rapid eye movement) stages of sleep, but we leave the technicalities for some other time.
The least I can say is that dreams deserve being interpreted. Imagination is a wonderful way to not only introspect but also to explore the world around you. So cuddle up in bed and focus yourself on what you want to experience tonight and dream on !
